


devil dogs

by dev0n



Category: Daredevil (Comics), Daredevil (TV), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Punisher (Comics), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angels, Canon Temporary Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Supernatural Elements, The Punisher: Purgatory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-03-05 06:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13382055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dev0n/pseuds/dev0n
Summary: frank castle awoke from death with a loud gasp in a dark room.





	1. i used to be somebody

**Author's Note:**

> okay, unpopular opinion, i actually rather liked the punisher: purgatory arc. you don't really _need_ to read it to understand this, but it'd probably help. just know this: it really is 616 canon that frank killed himself and was brought back by an angel to redeem himself. the glowing eyes thing was also canon. the late 90s were weird. anyway, characterization and some story elements are inspired by both mcu and comics. the timeline is pretty ambiguous, in the same way most of marvel tends to be. i should also add that the religious symbolism is all in line with canon; i'm very much not christian myself, lmao. don't worry, i'm not gonna be proselytizing.
> 
> i'm not entirely sure where i'm going with this, but i've written about five different damn versions of just this first chapter trying to get the concept out of my head and onto the screen in a way i'm satisfied with, so feedback is much appreciated. unbeta'd, proofread by me. all chapter titles will be from various nine inch nails songs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"The field is the world;_  
>  _The good seeds are the children of the Kingdom;_  
>  _But the tares are the children of the Wicked One._  
>  _The Enemy that sowed them is the Devil;_  
>  _The Harvest is the End of Age;_  
>  _And the Reapers are the Angels."_  
>  ─ **_The gospel according to Matthew, 13:39_**

Frank Castle awoke from death with a loud gasp in a dark room. The only source of light in the room was a soft red-orange glow that seemed to be coming from himself ─ his eyes, he was fairly certain. He was sore all over, a bone-deep ache he couldn't even begin to describe. Frank felt clean, and he was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants that felt somehow wrong on his body. It took far too long for him to realize he was restrained to the cot he was laying in; he yanked at the cuffs and made a frustrated noise that brought the excruciating dryness of his throat to his attention.

The worst part of it all was that Frank couldn't recall how he'd gotten here. In fact, he couldn't remember anything at all. He tried to remember anything other than that ─ friends, family, where he lived, _anything_ ─ there was nothing. Even words failed him. Frank was starting to panic, now; he pulled at his restraints again despite how much it hurt.

"Frank," someone said in the darkness. Frank stopped and tensed, looking around. The orangish glow of his eyes helped only marginally, but after a moment, a figure stepped forward out of the shadows. "It's alright. You're safe."

Though Frank understood the man's meaning, to his frustration, he found he didn't have the words to respond. Part of him recognized the voice, the symbol on his chest, the horns on the forehead of the mask ─ but he wasn't quite sure _how_.

"Can you speak?" the stranger asked. Frank just scowled at him and tugged at his restraints again. The stranger sighed. "I figured as much. Your memory will come back to you. I think."

"You _think?_ " Frank repeated incredulously. Both he and the stranger seemed startled by his words. Speaking hurt. Frank struggled for a moment to recall the word for what he needed. "Water."

"How thoughtless of me. Of course. I'm sorry." The stranger walked away for a moment. Frank tried not to panic once the stranger left his line of vision. He heard a faucet turn on, then off. The stranger returned with a glass of water, which he lifted to Frank's lips. Frank scowled at him again.

"I can't take off the cuffs yet, Frank," the stranger sighed. "Open."

Frank gave in after a few more seconds, deciding alleviating the dry pain in his throat was worth more than preserving his pride was. It only took him seconds to drain the glass. He wanted more, but he was already vaguely nauseated. Best not to push it. The stranger pulled away. Frank heard him set the glass down.

"Do you remember anything, Frank?"

Frank shook his head. Paused. Thought. "Frank... Castiglione?"

"At one time, yes. You changed your name to Frank Castle."

"Frank Castle," Frank repeated, and thought for another few seconds. "I have another name."

The stranger shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Yes," he admitted slowly, sounding reluctant. "You called yourself something else, too. But that doesn't matter now. That's not who you are anymore."

"No?" Frank asked dubiously. "Who are you?"

"I'm Daredevil."

Frank looked the stranger over again. He remembered who the Devil was. This man was certainly dressed the part. But that couldn't be his _actual_ name. Frank was certain he knew what that was. He struggled to remember, brow wrinkling in concentration.

"Murdock," Frank recalled abruptly.

Daredevil tensed, then sighed and turned his head away. "Yes. My identity is meant to be secret, but you learned who I was a long time ago. My name is Matt Murdock."

Frank nodded slightly. "Why am I here?"

Matt hesitated, then sighed and reached out for something. He pulled up a metal folding chair and sat backwards in it, facing Frank. "That's a bit of a long story, Frank."

"Make it shorter."

Matt huffed out a laugh. "Good to know death and resurrection didn't change your sparkling personality."

Frank took a moment to absorb that. "I died." It wasn't a question. He could remember now, at least a little bit. He'd ─

_Oh, God._

"I killed myself."

Matt nodded solemnly. "I don't know why, or what happened. At least, I didn't. And then... You're never going to believe me, but an angel came to me."

Frank surprised both himself and Matt with the dry bark of laughter that he let out in response. It was short-lived, however, and he grimaced at the way it hurt his still-raw throat. "Don't remember much. _Do_ remember that I wasn't the kinda guy an angel would give a shit about."

"He said he was your, ah, your guardian angel," Matt explained, frowning. "That he failed you, and that he hoped bringing you back might help make up for that. He told me he made some... Improvements."

"My eyes?"

"I thought there was something strange about them. I can't quite tell what, though."

"You're blind," Frank suddenly remembered. He knew that. Why didn't he _know_ he knew that?

"Yes." Matt tilted his head slightly. "What exactly is wrong with _your_ eyes?"

"Glowing."

"... Your eyes are glowing."

"Yes."

"Huh." There was another short silence. Frank rattled his chains again impatiently. Matt sighed. "Frank, there's a lot you still don't remember. You and I... We don't really get along."

"We don't?" Frank frowned. "But I trust you."

"Frank─"

"No, I _trust_ you. Always have. I like you. You're good." Matt looked like he wanted to interrupt again, but Frank shook his head, speaking aloud and all in a rush so he could keep up with his own racing thoughts. "That's it. There's something he wants me to do. He gave me a, a purpose. That's what I lost before. A purpose. That's why I..."

"What do you mean? What kind of purpose?" Matt sounded confused.

Frank swallowed. God, his throat hurt. Still, he had the feeling he'd felt far worse pain in the past. " _You're_ my purpose. Brought me to you to help. Keep you safe, do what needs to be done." He paused. "No. Do what _you_ need me to do."

"What?" Matt sounded alarmed. "No, you don't _have_ to do anything, Frank. You're your own person. No matter what happened to you, you don't─"

"No, no. I know it ─ I _feel_ it. You can't die. You're good. I... I already died, and I'm not good. Don't matter if I die again." Frank considered his words for a moment. "Repentance. That's why I'm here."

"I..." Matt ran a hand over his still-masked face. He still looked unsettled. "That makes a sick sort of sense, I guess. But ─ you know I can't let you kill anybody, right?"

"I know." Frank had the feeling he should be more upset about that, that he would've been before, but he found it was quite easy to accept. "I'll do what you need me to do. S'why he brought me back."

"I... I guess I'd prefer that over the other options I have to choose from," Matt sighed. "Besides, it's not like I can turn down a literal angel's request."

"Choir boy."

Once again, Matt looked surprised. Then he relaxed slightly and let out a short huff of laughter. "Yeah, Frank, that's me. Pious to the end."


	2. back then i couldn't do the things that i can do now

"C'mon, Frank, I know you can hit harder than that," Matt panted. He'd foregone his Daredevil suit this time, and they were on equal ground; both in sweatpants and T-shirts, no weapons, just them.

It'd been a week or so since Frank awoke from death, and he'd insisted on jumping right into training ─ on working out the sluggish, weak feeling that'd seeped so deep inside him. Matt certainly didn't go easy on him, and Frank was knocked on his ass more than a few times during their sparring sessions.

"I know I can," Frank grunted. "I can hit a _lot_ harder. Harder than I used to. I feel it. Improvements, he said..." Frank trailed off, frowning. "I know there's something else I can do. Like I can just... It'll come to me, if I call it. But I don't know what _it_ is, so I haven't tried."

"That's... Ridiculously vague, Frank," Matt said, raising an eyebrow. He went over to where they'd left their things and grabbed his water bottle, taking a long drink. "Call it. Let's see what it is. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Frank trusted Matt. Over the past several days, he'd come to realize there was a certain level of _devotion_ there that he knew he'd never felt before. Frank was quiet about it, because he somehow also knew that it'd worry Matt; he knew he would've been worried about it himself, before, but it didn't bother him now. He had a purpose. He had Matt.

And so he did as he was told, and he called _it._

"Holy shit," Frank said, when he found his hands quite suddenly full with... Well, it was definitely some sort of gun. It looked like something straight out of a low-budget sci-fi movie, sleek and silver with a core that pulsed blue. Frank turned it over in his hands, examining it carefully. "Another improvement, huh? Heaven's giving the Punisher guns now?"

"That can't be what it's for," Matt snapped, coming closer. He reached out gingerly, and Frank allowed him to run his fingers over the glinting chrome. "It's vibrating with so much energy... What does it do? Heaven wouldn't provide you with _lethal_ weapons." The _would they?_ was left unsaid, but Frank heard it anyway.

"Dunno," Frank grunted, lifting the thing and aiming at the far wall. "Only one way to find out."

\---

"You'll need something to wear," Matt said suddenly, about two weeks after Frank discovered the veritable (and indeed, apparently, nonlethal) arsenal at his disposal.

"Hm." Frank grunted, glancing over to Matt. "Told you I'm not one for masks. I had the skull, but..."

"But the Punisher is dead," Matt persisted. " _Frank Castle_ is dead, as far as anyone else knows. You'll stay safe longer if you hide your identity."

Frank mulled that over for a moment, taking a drink from his water bottle. "You think that's best?" he asked.

"I do."

"Fine." Frank sighed, dragging a hand down his face. It was incredibly difficult to say 'no' to Matt Murdock, these days. (That should've worried him. It didn't.) "Does it gotta have a stupid theme like yours?"

"It's not stupid, it's _intimidating_ ," Matt insisted, scowling even as Frank smirked. "You don't _have_ to, no. But..."

"Am I gonna be your sidekick? Batman and Robin?"

"You're hardly the Boy Wonder," Matt laughed. "No, you're just ─ you. But you might need some sort of alias eventually, is all. Something besides the Punisher."

"Let's just start with some regular body armor, yeah?" Frank sighed. "And... Some sort of stupid mask, I guess. _Without_ horns. Or the lenses."

"Yes, sir," Matt said, rolling his eyes. "We'll have to visit a friend, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short, but it's been sitting around in my docs and i figured publishing it might help spur me into writing more? everyone's comments are greatly appreciated, and any suggestions are also greatly appreciated. thanks!


End file.
